Unpaid Somali border guards prey on famine-stricken refugees

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WHAT: Somalis with new uniforms and guns provided by Kenya are supposed to be guarding the Kenya-Somalia border against Islamist insurgents. But many are preying on Somali refugees fleeing their famine-stricken country.

WHY: Officers are not paying the troops and are providing rations only irregularly. Those guards who do not turn to robbery, beatings and gang rape are likely to desert and sell their weapons to bandits — who then rob them.

WHAT’S BEING DONE: Now the Italians and the United States — which finance some relief security forces — insist on paying each Somali soldier $100 in person every month rather than giving money to commanders. And the Kenyan army has executed guard deserters.